Iran Daily: Signs of Crisis as Currency Plummets

In a sign of economic difficulties and a possible currency crisis, Iran’s rial has plunged — from an already-historic low — almost 20% in recent days.

On Monday morning the rial is at almost 60,000:1 v. the US dollar, compared to about 50,000:1 at this time last week. It fell 6% on Sunday alone.

The Iranian Students News Agency said exchange shops stopped trading as the Rial closed on 60,000:1 yesterday. It said this caused further problems, as street dealers sold dollars “at any price they desired”.

The currency dropped below its all-time low of about 45,000:1 last month. The Central Bank intervened with an interest-rate rise to try and halt the slide to the symbolic mark of 50,000:1, and authorities threatened to detain speculation and unofficial currency traders. However, the measures failed to stem long queues demanding foreign currencies or to spur savings in rials.

The drop has now shattered the official rate of about 33,000:1 set by the Rouhani Government as it pursued economic recovery after the July 2015 nuclear deal. The new crisis appears to have been spurred by threats of US withdrawal from the agreement and new, widespread sanctions. However, it also reflects ongoing weakness in production, investment, and trade, with the unemployment rate rising, especially among youth.

About The Author

Scott Lucas is Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView. He is a specialist in US and British foreign policy and international relations, especially the Middle East and Iran. Formerly he worked as a journalist in the US, writing for newspapers including the Guardian and The Independent and was an essayist for The New Statesman before he founded EA WorldView in November 2008.

1 Comment

niallfraserlove on April 9, 2018 at 10:57

Well what do you expect from a regime who’s inspiration believed that “economics are for donkeys”?

The last “revolution [may] not [have been] about the price of watermelons” but the next one may be about the price of eggs.